When They Open Their Eyes
by Lahirta
Summary: It was the maggots that got to Dean though. The repulsion on his face must have been obvious because the angel made a move as though to return to its cage. "I'll take him." The words slip through Dean's lips before he can fully comprehend what he is saying. The sudden spark of hope in the angel's eyes confirm the words though.
1. The Only Angel

**Author's Note:**_ I'm in a whumpy mood, might as well take it out on the boys, right?_

**Warnings: **_Shameless angel whumpage, blood... emotional distress and cussing... No slash in this fiction, sorry guys!_

**Disclaimer:** _Don't own the show or the boys._

* * *

Dean Winchester was uncomfortable as he entered the shop, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Rain was unleashing its fury on the streets outside causing the city to have an omnipresent feel to it. "I'm here to get one," the hunter jerks a thumb in the direction of the closed doors.

The clerk nods before tapping a button on the desk, the flashing _Open_ sign in the store window turns off. With a croaky, "Follow me," the portly man leads Dean into the other room. With a clap of the clerk's, _Mike's, _hands the lights turn on. Only one angel is chained in the corner of the room, black wings drooping and dragging in the stagnant water that fills the cell. There is no room for it to move around, forcing it to stay in the water. Its in the appearance of a man, tiny and broken.

"This is the only one we have at the moment." There was an apologetic note in Mike's tone. "We were thinking about throwing it in with the Wendigo at the theater but... a guy has to make money." He kicks water at the celestial being in disgust, causing the wings to tuck close to the trench coated body. "And this pathetic piece of shit wouldn't last five minutes."

A key clanged against the bars of the cage, causing the angel to finally look up. Its eyes are a shocking blue. Dean found him swallowing thickly, the lump of surprise trying to stick in his throat. The magnificence of the moment is abruptly cut short when Mike releases the chains and grabs the angel by its wing. The creature twists with a soft cry, trying vainly to free his soft appendage from the cruel grip. There's an irritated shake from Mike and the angel slumps, the fight seeming to leave it as quickly as it had appeared.

Its not until the light fully illuminates his potential angel that Dean realizes just how serious the creature's situation is. Blood was oozing out between the black feathers and in some places pus joined the mix. It was the maggots that got to Dean though. The repulsion on his face must have been obvious because the angel made a move as though to return to its cage.

"I'll take him." The words slip through Dean's lips before he can fully comprehend what he is saying. The sudden spark of hope in the angel's eyes confirm the words though.

Mike looks at him like he's nuts, _hell maybe he is_ but he can't leave anything to suffer like this. A chain is thrust into his hands and it takes Dean a moment to realize that its the angel's leash. The clerk is looking at him expectantly, his chubby hand outstretched. Dean digs into his back pocket and fishes out a wad of cash before slapping it into the other man's hand.

"Enjoy your angel." The call echoes after Dean as he leads his new angel out of the shop.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _Short first chapter, I know... but I want to see if this garners any interest. As you can tell, Dean is quite a bit out of his element for more than one reason. There will be more pain as well as some attempted bonding by Dean. The more reviews you spoil me with, the sooner chapter two will come out :D_

_I'm rating this just under M for now. Liable to change if things get incredibly graphic._

_4/07/214: Corrected some typos, new chapter should be up by tomorrow :)_


	2. Of Car Rides and Maggots

**Author's Note:**_ So many requests for Destiel in this ficlet! I'm sorry but I must decline darlings. However, I am planning on writing a Kinking It_! _series_ _after this is completed._

**Warnings: **_Shameless angel whumpage, blood... emotional distress and cussing... No slash in this fiction, sorry guys!_

**Disclaimer:** _Don't own the show or the boys._.

* * *

Although they were the ragged remains of their former glory, the massive black wings were posing a rather serious problem. The angel, _he still didn't know its name_, was doing its best to try to fit in the backseat of the Impala. There was a look of despair on the celestial's face as it desperately tried to please its new owner. _Please me,_ Dean corrected with a sinking feeling in his gut.

"Hey man," he puts a hand on the creature's shoulder, trying to calm it down. The angel abruptly goes still, shoulder trembling with anticipation. _The anticipation of a punishment for failing. _The realization makes the hunter sick. "Its ok," the words are forced past the lump of pity that has lodged itself in his throat.

The angel turns to look at him but there is no trust. If anything the creature seems to droop. _He's clearly heard that before. _Dean is silent for a long moment, unsure of what he should say. Was there a way to comfort a creature so abused? If there was, it was unknown to him. The only thing he could do was to treat the angel with respect and show it that he meant no harm. Perhaps learning its name would be a start?

"What's your name?" The question is not hard, rather a curious thing instead.

The celestial being pauses, throat working for a few seconds before its voice makes itself known. "Castiel."

Dean blinks, he was not expecting such a deep and gravelly voice. "Alright, Castiel... one way or another I've got to get you to my house and I would rather not make you walk there."

The angel cocks its head in confusion, reminding the hunter of a lost puppy. _Huh, son of a bitch can almost pull it off as well as Sammy._ The thought is cut short as Castiel frowns before grabbing his right wing. Face scrunching in what had to be almost unbearable agony, he squished the wing as small as he could make it. The black appendage oozed and several maggots dropped onto the seat. Suddenly the window is down and the wing shoots through the empty space. Understanding what the angel is trying to do, Dean puts the window down on his side and shuts the door. He barely backs away in time to avoid being clipped by the massive wing.

The Impala looks as if she is alive. The wet pavement is glowing beneath her tires and the wings... the silky black things look as though they are a part of the car. The sight takes Dean's breath away. The rain reminds him of the fact that he needs to get home and with a shake of his head the trance is broken. "That's going to hurt like hell isn't it?"

Castiel looks at him pensively, "Not nearly as much." The words are graveled out with the utmost sincerity and Dean realizes that the angel isn't joking. The angel wraps his shattered wings around the Impala, cocooning the car in a soft embrace. Dean gives an appreciative nod in the angel's direction before pulling out onto the road.

~_When They Open Their Eyes_~

The angel looks incredibly pale by the time Dean rolls into the driveway of his house. It had been a two hour drive from the city and the hunter felt a twinge of guilt. With painstaking care, Dean opens the doors, doing his best not to irritate the wings any more than they had to be. Dean had, luckily, built a guest house on the edge of his property a few years ago. The doorways were unusually wide, as the hunter had built it for whenever he chose to get an angel. At the time he hadn't known that the creatures could hide their wings and looking back on it now, he was glad that he had been ignorant.

It was a cozy looking wood cabin, and it was reminiscent of the lodges people rented while at the mountains on vacations. "This is your place," Dean informs the angel as he helps him maneuver into the building.

Castiel freezes and turns to look at the hunter. Suspicion gleams in the blue orbs as well as an intense look of concentration. The angel blinks and the moment seems to evaporate. "Thank you, Master."

Dean looks down, a hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck in an awkward silence. "I'd... uh, I'd prefer it if you called me Dean."

The celestial being tilts his head once more, "That is not acceptable behavior from an angel. You are _Master_, you own me and as such I am yours."

There is no room for argument, something about Castiel's tone seems to abolish the notion. Dean bites his lip in disagreement but decides not argue with the creature. "You aren't going to enjoy what has to happen next." Dean looks away, unwilling to tell the angel that what Dean plans on doing will most likely hurt quite a bit. "We have to get those maggots out of your wings man..."

The wings droop before the angel nods an agreement.

Dean clears off the kitchen table before grabbing a bowl, a jar of petroleum jelly and tweezers. "Let's see how many of those bastards we can get out this way." He grabs the stuff that he had set down just in time to avoid having them go flying as the angel covered the table with one of his wings. Dean starts by smearing the jelly onto every gaping wound that he find, on both sides of the wing. Castiel is silent throughout the treatment, but his jaw is clenched firmly shut. It takes a few minutes for the bugs to realize that their oxygen supply has been cut off and Dean nearly crows with victory when the first of them wriggle out of the flesh. Using the tweezers he quickly snatches the vile thing up and drops it in the bowl. The process takes hours to complete, and even then Dean isn't sure if he's gotten all of the maggots out of the wing.

The angel looks like its done in though, the body slumped over a chair, muscles twitching with discomfort. Castiel needed a break but the hunter had already caught onto the fact that the angel wouldn't voice his feelings. _Not yet_, Dean notes, _but one day he will._

He gives Castiel a thirty minute reprieve before starting on the other wing.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Thank you for the reviews my lovelies! I have posted this chapter early because I will be attending a wedding this weekend that's about eight hours from where I live. Its going to be loads of fun, but sadly for you guys it would have meant waiting for the next chapter, so here is my present to you! I will get back late on Sunday and then I will have a few days in town before I head to the beach on that Thursday. I will be gone for the rest of that week as well as the next so in the short span of time that I have at home I will try to spoil you guys with a long chapter. By the way, didn't you notice this one was longer as well? Anyways, please review. _

_Reviews are to me as pie is to Dean. _


	3. Breaking Down Barriers

**Author's Note:**_ Alright my little heathens, how have you managed to consume my thoughts so quickly? I had to go shopping yesterday (today?) {depends on when you read this...so basically on Wednesday} to try to find something to wear to the wedding this weekend and all I could think about was Dean, Castiel and you lovelies who take the time to read and review my story. And so, here I sit in bed at 11:30 at night typing up this chapter._

**Warnings: **_Shameless angel whumpage, blood... emotional distress and cussing... No slash in this fiction, sorry guys!_

**Disclaimer:** _Don't own the show or the boys._

* * *

When Dean rolls over in his bed the next morning his nostrils are hit with the aroma of a hot breakfast somewhere in the near vicinity. Green eyes crack open, still bleary with sleep and are greeted by the sight of an angel holding a folding tray complete with a plate full of eggs, bacon and a few pancakes. A hot coffee steams up from the mug adjacent to the food.

"I hope this pleases you Master." A figure rises from the seat by the windows, black wings fanning out as if to assist with balance. There is no sarcasm in the tone and for some reason that disturbs Dean.

He stiffens when the angel calls him _master_, causing the celestial being to retreat hastily. "Uh, thanks." The hunter grunts awkwardly before sitting up and flashing a groggy smile in Castiel's direction. The wings twitch up, as if the small gesture has made the angel happy. Castiel leaves him to eat in peace and the hunter can hear the angel cleaning up downstairs. This would have to stop soon though, Dean hadn't bought the angel to be his slave. _I want him to be..._ the thoughts break off as the hunter ponders what exactly he wants. _I don't want him to live in fear anymore._ The thought hits him with the force of a speeding train. _Hell, I don't want any of the angels to live in terror._ Once they had been mighty creatures, beings that the human population had revered and adored. Then the fall had happened and humanity... _we fucked it all up_. The thought is vicious but truth rings behind it.

Dean was content to start making things right with _this_ angel. The first step would be to let the physical wounds heal, it was the emotional ones that would be the hardest to heal. Eyes furrowing he finished the breakfast, _and he be damned if it wasn't hea- no not using a pun,_ Dean corrected with a slight smirk. Stretching, the hunter wandered into the bathroom.

It was in the shower that the realization dawned on him. Every angel had metal cuffs with engravings around their biceps. In lore, the angels could heal their vessels whenever they wanted. Heck, they weren't even really attached to their vessels in lore. They simply wore them like a meat suit, with the human's permission. Perhaps one of the sigils on the cuffs prohibited the natural healing ability? After all, what would be the point of abusing something if it could heal without flinching? It was with fervor that he dried off and dressed before calling for Castiel excitedly.

The angel came into the room warily, and Dean could tell that the celestial was wondering if he had done something wrong. "Yes Master?"

"Its ok Castiel," the reassuring words leave his mouth with sincerity. "I just need to take a look at those cuffs."

Blue eyes widen with fear, "Master, I can assure you that they will not come off!" There is panic in the smaller body. The wings are splayed out and stiff with fear, occasionally twitching nervously.

Dean sits on the floor, trying to make himself seem less threatening. He was pretty sure that was what you were supposed to do with animals, and he didn't see the harm in at least trying that approach. It seems to work, the angel starts taking small, hesitant steps forward. Eventually Castiel is kneeling in front of him, arm outstretched so that Dean can inspect the cuffs. "You can understand these squiggles right?"

"Sigils." The gruff correction leaves the angel before he can stop it so he adds a weak, "Master." He peers at them before nodding. "Yes Master, I do."

The hunter smiles at this before reaching under the bed and grabbing his knife. The angel tenses but does not pull away. Either he is frozen with fear or has already started to trust Dean. He hopes its the latter. "Which one prevents you from healing?"

The angel blinks, clearly confused by the question. "Master?" The question comes out small and filled with bewilderment.

"Its ok, just tell me which one." Dean will give him a direct order if he has to, but the hunter is doing his best to avoid that.

The angel bites its lip before pulling its arm away and replacing it with his left. "Its the third sigil at the top." The tattered wings are struggling to decide whether or not to show fear or the quivering hope that is starting to surge through the angel. With a grim determination Castiel squashes the feeling as if it were an ant. It was dangerous to even long for hope, let alone to _feel_ it. This human... he was so familiar and the angel studies the man across from him intently. He was so focused on trying to figure where he knew Dean from that he starts in surprise when raw _power_ begins to flow back into his grace.

The hunter was breaking the sigil that stopped him from healing. A shudder of ecstasy rocks through the angel's body, his grace welcoming back the power with joy. It felt as though a part of him that he had believed long dead was being reawakened. Castiel can't control it, his wings shoot out, knocking various objects off of their resting places and sending them tumbling to the floor. The air seems to crackle with electricity before the angel begins to glow. "Close your eyes Master." He warns, gravelly voice not giving the human any room for argument. As soon as Dean's eyes are shut the light seems to explode everywhere before fading.

When he opens his eyes the wings are gone and there's not a single mark on the angel's skin. Castiel's eyes are dancing with joy. "I remember you now." The angel reaches forward, his hand moving to the mark under Dean's sleeve. His hand covers the print perfectly and its with pride that the angel informs him, "I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."

* * *

**Author's Note:** _Boom. That's all I have to say about this chapter. You can thank my dragon Eyvindur for the events in this chapter. (He's my muse.) As you can tell from this chapter I am still following the events in the show in a similar type of universe... the circumstances are merely different. I have really spoiled you guys rotten this week... three chapters within a few days from each other? _

_So now its your turn... spoil me! Feed me those wonderful reviews, I read them all and take all of them into consideration. Not to mention I adore the attention 3_

_I'm rating this just under M for now. Liable to change if things get incredibly graphic._

_P.S: This weekend and the following two weeks are still set up the same._


	4. Introducing Bobby

**Author's Note:**_ So so sorry for the wait my lovelies! I had a bunch of fun at the wedding the other weekend, and it took me a day to recover from the night fun XP Then I was swept up in the river that is life._

**Warnings: **_Shameless angel whumpage, blood... emotional distress and cussing... No slash in this fiction, sorry guys!_

**Disclaimer:** _Don't own the show or the boys._.

* * *

A loud rapping on the front door shatters the moment and Dean senses the angel starting to retreat back behind his mental barriers. Dean thought about grabbing the celestial being's arm before biting his lip and deciding against it. He couldn't see a positive reaction occurring from the motion. _Not yet, someday soon but not yet._ Frowning, he left Castiel to gather the dishes from his breakfast and hopped down the stairs. He landed with a jolt on his heels and Dean felt a satisfied smirk lift his lips up.

"Dean." Bobby's gruff voice greets him as he opens the door. "Its about damn time, I was about to knock the door down."

"Sorry," the younger man grunts, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Want a beer?"

"Your cheap shit?" Bobby scoffs as he moves through the doorway and into the house. "No. I have a case I need you to work up in North Dakota."

The clacking of dishes in the kitchen draws Bobby's attention. "Hope I'm not interrupting a booty call."

Castiel appears in the doorway, a wet dish dripping in his hand as his eyes sweep over Bobby. "May I help you?"

"Who the hell are you?" Bobby fires back, brow raised. "Dean... tell me you didn't get one of those blasted things!"

Dean's lips tighten in a scowl at his surrogate father's tone before he looks down at the floor. "He dragged my sorry ass out of Hell."

"Of course the son of a bitch is gonna say that, are you getting stupid boy?" Bobby growls, grabbing Dean by the arm. He's in the process of dragging the younger man out of the door when he feels eyes piercing through him. A quick look tells him that the angel is watching him in disapproval. "Tell McSmitey over there to cool it off," he growls at Dean.

"Its ok Castiel." Dean forces himself not to sound angry. "Bobby is a friend."

"He does not act like one." The angel mutters before retreating to the kitchen and clanging one of the dishes on the counter as a reminder of his presence.

* * *

It is not until Bobby is sure that they are out of earshot that he starts talking again. "What the hell where you thinking getting an _angel_." The word is spat out like a curse. "If you had any sense you would be rid of that _thing_."

"Woah." Dean raises a hand, brow furrowed. "First of all, he makes a damn good pie. Secondly, he's going to be great to have on hunts with us."

Scoffing, Bobby decides to change the subject. "I think its demonic possession." At Dean's look of confusion he adds, "In Dakota."

"Great, more black eyed bitches." Dean scuffs at the ground with his shoe. "Bobby, I think he knows something about all this crap." The younger man jerks a thumb back in the direction of the house.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Bobby grouches, "Cook up some tender angel wings?"

Brows furrowing, Dean shakes his head. "I took out the sigil that doesn't let him heal."

"You did _what_?" The growl is shocked and angry.

"He's _not_ the enemy, if anything I think he'd be awesome to bring on hunts." Dean shifts, making Bobby look at him. "Think about it, the dude went to _H__ell_, broke me out and put my body back together. You said yourself that there was hardly anything left of it."

"How'd he do it? Dean, that was months after the angels fell." The older hunter huffs, "In order to swing that amount of power after being stripped from Heaven... that's some serious mojo."

"Yeah well, in the mean time we need to earn his trust so that when I set him free he won't turn on us." The reply is casual and Dean leaves Bobby spluttering nearly incoherent curses after him.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_I'm so sorry about the wait my dears, this chapter took me a while to get the way I wanted it to. In the mean time I started another story called Count On Me, and I hope that you will also enjoy that one. They will be updated every other week, (COM will be updated next week because this story was updated this week).__  
_

_Reviews are to me as pie is to Dean. _


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